Drum lifting attachment

ABSTRACT

Clamping attachment adapting drums to be lifted by a hoist and the like. The attachment is in the form of an inverted L-shaped frame, having a horizontal leg extending over the top of the drum and a vertical leg extending downwardly along the side of the drum. A cradle at the lower end of the vertical leg is adapted to engage the drum at circumferentially spaced points. A clevis on the horizontal leg adapts the frame for lifting by a hoist, while a counterweight on the outer end of the horizontal leg counterbalances the frame when moved into engagement with the drum. The frame contains cooperating lower and upper clamping jaws recessed in the vertical leg adjacent the top of the leg and guided manually to engage the lower jaw beneath the bead of the drum and the upper jaw within the bead of the drum and grippingly engage the bead of the drum as the attachment is raised.

United States Patent [191 Ericson 1 Jan. 15, 1974 [73] Assignee: Marvel Industries, Inc., Evanston,

Ill.

22 Filed: Mar. 20, 1972 21 Appl.No.:235,949

[52] US. Cl. 294/90, 294/92 [51] Int. Cl. B666 1/42 [58] Field of Search 294/67 R, 67 A, 67 AA,

294/67 AB, 67 DA, 81 R, 90-92, 15, 103, 104; 214/653, 654, 377

Primary Examiner-Even C. Blunk Assistant Examiner-Johnny D. Cherry Attorney-Carlton Hill et a1.

[5 7 ABSTRACT Clamping attachment adapting drums to be lifted by a hoist and the like. The attachment is in the form of an inverted L-shaped frame, having a horizontal leg extending over the top of the drum and a vertical leg extending downwardly along the side of the drum. A cradle at the lower end of the vertical leg is adapted to engage the drum at circumferentially spaced points. A clevis on the horizontal leg adapts the frame for lifting by a hoist, while a counterweight on the outer end of the horizontal leg counterbalances the frame when moved into engagement with the drum. The frame contains cooperating lower and upper clamping jaws recessed in the vertical leg adjacent the top of the leg and guided manually to engage the lower jaw beneath the bead of the drum and the upper jaw within the bead of the drum and grippingly engage the bead of the drum as the attachment is raised.

1 Claim, 4 Drawing Figures PAI I JAN 1 5 m4 sum 1 or 2 PAIENIEUJAN I SL974 SHEET 2 Hi2 1 DRUM LIFTING ATTACHMENT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention Clamping and lifting attachment for drums of the type found in Class 214.

Drum handling device for hand and power operated lifting trucks of the class disclosed in the U.S. Pats. to Traxel No. 2,272,447 and Ericson No. 2,698,107; 2,814,403 and 3,338,616 have come into common use for picking up and transporting various types of drums and barrels, and have been found to be very satisfactory and efficient for this purpose.

The present invention differs from those of the aforementioned patents in that it adapts a pair of clamping jaws for lifting a drum by a hoist and is in the form of a manually guided frame suspended from a hoist and manually positioned to clamp beneath and within the bead of a drum upon upwardly lifting movement of the drum by the hoist.

An advantage of the present invention is in the simplicity of the attachment and its adaptability for gripping and lifting a wide variety of drums in a simple and expeditious manner.

A further advantage of the invention is in the simplicity of the carrier for the clamping jaws, and the arrangement of the carrier with respect to the jaws, to firmly grip the bead of the drum and hold the drum in an upright position during upward lifting movement thereof.

A principal object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a new and improved form of manual controllable lifting attachment for drums and barrels by a hoist, arranged with a view toward utrnost simplicity in construction and ease and efficiency in operation.

Other objects, features and advantages of the inven- DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF INVENTION In FIG. 1 of the drawings, I have shown a clamping attachment constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention, in the form of an inverted generally L-shaped frame 11 having a horizontal leg 12 adapted to extend over the top of a drum 10, having a clevis 13 mounted thereon for adjustable movement therealong, and adapted to be connected with a hook l5 suspended from a cable 16 of a hoist, to lift the drum as the attachment is clamped beneath and with bead 14 of the drum.

The frame 11 has a vertical leg 17 extending downwardly along the side of the drum beneath the center of gravity thereof and having a cradle 19 mounted on the lower end of said leg for engaging the wall of the drum.

The cradle 19 is shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 as extending laterally from the leg 17 in opposite directions, equal distances, and as diverging from the leg 17 toward the wall of the drum. Spaced abutment members 20 at opposite ends of said cradle, and shown as being cylindrical in form are engageable with the wall of the drum, at circumferentially spaced points, to retain the drum in a generally vertical position and hold the drum from twisting movement as lifted above the ground.

. The frame 11 is shown in FIGS 2 and 3 as being formed by two parallel spaced inverted generally L- shaped plates 21, connected together by a plate 22 formed to conform to form of the frame 11 and extending along the horizontal and vertical legs thereof for a portion of the length thereof, as shown in FIG. 3. The plates 21 are connected together at their lower ends by a bottom plate 23 forming the bottom plate of the cradle 19 and intermediate their ends by an upwardly spaced plate 24 forming the top plate of said cradle as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Plates 28 extend above the tops and bottoms of the plates 21 at the forward ends of the horizontal legs thereof to space said legs apart.

tion will be readily apparent from the following dedeparting from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS with a drum beneath and within the bead of a drum.

FIG. 2 is an end view of the clamping attachment with certain parts broken away and certain other parts removed.

FIG. 3 is a view in side elevation of the attachment shown in FIG. I, removed from the drum and with certain parts broken away in order to illustrate the clamping jaws adapted to grip beneath and within the bead of the drum; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken through the lower leg of the frame for the attachment along line lV-IV of FIG. 3 in order to illustrate the cradle engageable with the wall of the drum, to retain the drum in a vertical position during upward lifting movement thereof.

Gusset plates 25 extend along the outer sides of the plates 21 across the juncture of the legs 12 and 17, and may be welded or otherwise secured thereto, to gusset said legs at the juncture thereof. v

The horizontal leg 12 has a plurality of apertured portions extending thereacross, which may be in the form of drilled holes 26 extending through the plates 21 and spaced therealong and affording a means for adjustably connecting the clevis 13 thereto.

The clevis 13 is a generally inverted U-shaped form including a pair of parallel spacedlegs 29 extending along opposite sides of the horizontal leg 12, and connected together at their upper ends by a web (not shown). An inverted U-shaped rod 30 extends upwardly from said legs 29 and is welded or otherwise secured thereto to form a means for attaching the hook 15 thereto. The legs 29 are spaced far enough apart to come along the outside of a tongue 31 extending from a counterweight 32 along an outer side of the horizontal leg 12. The counterweight 32 is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 as being of an inverted U-shaped form closed at its outer end and extending beyond the end of the leg 12 and as being adjustable along said leg. A pin 33 is provided to connect the clevis 13 and counterweight 32 to the leg 12, it being understood that the pin extends through the plates 29 of the clevis and an apertured portion of the tongue 31. A cotter pin, or other locking means may retain said clevis in position on said leg 12. The counterweight 32 may thus be moved along said leg 12 in accordance with the position of the clevis 13 on said leg and the lifting moments on said leg.

Referring now in particular to the clamping means, gripping beneath and within the bead of a drum to effect lifting movement thereof upon upward lifting movement of the cable 16 and hook 15, the clamping means includes a stationary casing 36 (FIG. 3) having parallel spaced side walls 37 suitably connected together and extending along the insides of the plates 21 beneath the juncture of the legs 12 and 17. The casing 36 contains a lower jaw 39 guided between the side walls 37 along a pin 40, for vertical movement with respect thereto.

An upper jaw 41 spaced above and outwardly of the jaw 39 is carried on the end of an arm 43 and is shown as being formed integrally therewith. The arm 43 is pivoted adjacent its inner end within the casing 36 on a pivot pin 44. A stop pin 45 extending across the side walls 37 of the casing is provided to limit retractable movement of the jaw 41.

The jaw 39 is carried on the upper end of the vertically extending leg 46, having a downwardly and inwardly opening recessed portion 47 slidably movable along the pin 40. An angle bracket 48 extends inwardly of the leg 46 in alignment with the upper'portion of the recessed portion 47 thereof, and has a tension spring 49 hooked thereto at the lower end of said spring. the opposite end of the tension spring 49 is hooked to a ring 50 hooked to an arm 51 extending from the arm 41, to the opposite side of the axis of the pin 44 from the arm 43. A link 53 connects the arm 43 to the leg 46. As shown in FIG. 3, the link is connected to the arm 43 outwardly of the pivot pin 44, as by a pivot pin 55, and to the leg 46 as by a pivot pin 56, disposed just above the recess 47.

The spring 49 thus biases the upper jaw 41 into engagement with the stop pin 45 and biases the jaw 39 in the uppermost position shown in FIG. 3. As the attachment frame 1 1 is lifted and moved inwardly toward the drum l beneath the bead 14 thereof, and then lifted by the cable 16 and hook 15, the jaw 39 engaging beneath the bead of the drum, and the attachment frame 11 moving upwardly, said jaw then will move downwardly along the pin 40. The link 53 will then pivot the arm 43 away from the stop 45 in a clockwise direction, to engage within the bead of the drum. Continued upward lifting movement of the attachment frame will thus increase the clamping action of the jaws 39, 41 on the bead 14 of the drum to firmly grip said bead and effect lifting movement of the drum, as the hoist (not shown) winds in the cable 16.

A hand grip 59 extends outwardly of the vertical leg 17 from a position adjacent the lower outer end of the gusset 25 and is welded or otherwise secured to the plates 21.

The hand grip 59 is adapted to be gripped by the hand, as the clamping attachment 1] is being lifted by a hoist, and enables the operator to guide the attachment and move it toward the bead 14 of the drum to engage the top side of the bead 14 with the lower surfaces of the gussets 25 as the cradle 19 comes into engagement with the wall of the drum. This will position the lower jaw to come under the bead of the drum, as the attachment is moved to engage the cradle 19 with the drum. Upward lifting movement of the clamping attachment will then move the lower clamping jaw 39 downwardly as engaged with the underside of the bead of the drum, and effect movement of the jaw 41 downwardly within the bead 14 of the drum, to clamp the bead 14 so it may be raised with the drum, upon upward lifting movement of the hook l5 and cable 16. It should here be noted that the upper face of the jaw 39 is spaced beneath the under surface of the gussets 25, a distance which may be on the order of one inch. This distance is ample to enable the clamping attachment to grip a wide variety of beads of drums and render the attachment universal insofar as commercial forms of the drums and barrels are concerned. The distance, of course, may be varied but it has been found that a distance of from one to one and one-fourth inches suits most commercial drums.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a clamping attachment for a drum having a bead extending about its upper end portion, adapting the drum to be lifted by a hoist including a cable having a hook on the end thereof,

a unitary angle frame having a first leg adapted to extend over the top of the drum,

and

a second leg formed as a part of said first leg and adapted to extend downwardly from said first leg along the side of the drum,

a cradle at the lower end of said second leg extending laterally in opposite directions equal distances from said leg and having engaging abutment members at opposite ends thereof formed on the arc of a circle to engage the side of the drum and react against the drum to hold the drum from twisting,

a clevis pivotally connected to said first leg intermediate the ends thereof and adpated to be detachably connected to a hoist,

a pair of clamping jaws partially recessed within said second leg adjacent the upper end portion thereof and comprising:

a lower jaw vertically movable for engagement beneath the bead of the drum, and

an upper jaw pivotally movable toward said lower jaw by engagement of said lower jaw beneath the bead of the drum and upward lifting movement of the attachment for engagement within the bead of the drum,

a counterweight on the outer end of said leg spaced outwardly of said clevis and adjustable along said am to balance said arms to extend substantially parallel to the top and side wall of a drum when suspended from a hoist, and

means for manually guiding said frame when suspended from a hoist to position the lower jaw beneath the bead of the drum, and including a gusset extending between said legs and having an inclined underface engageable with the top of the bead of the drum and spaced upwardly of the upper surface of said lower jaw a distance of at least one inch and not over one and one-quarter inches to thereby guide said lower jaw under the bead of the drum when said frame is manually moved inwardly toward the drum so that when the frame is lifted by the hoist, the lower jaw is vertically moved by engagement with the lower surface of the bead of the drum and the upper jaw is pivotally moved into gripping contact with the upper surface of the bead ofthedrum.

* s s 1- t 

1. In a clamping attachment for a drum having a bead extending about its upper end portion, adapting the drum to be lifted by a hoist including a cable having a hook on the end thereof, a unitary angle frame having a first leg adapted to extend over the top of the drum, and a second leg formed as a part of said first leg and adapted to extend downwardly from said first leg along the side of the drum, a cradle at the lower end of said second leg extending laterally in opposite directions equal distances from said leg and having engaging abutment members at opposite ends thereof formed on the arc of a circle to engage the side of the drum and react against the drum to hold the drum from twisting, a clevis pivotally connected to said first leg intermediate the ends thereof and adapted to be detachably connected to a hoist, a pair of clamping jaws partially recessed within said second leg adjacent the upper end portion thereof and comprising: a lower jaw vertically movable for engagement beneath the bead of the drum, and an upper jaw pivotally movable toward said lower jaw by engagement of said lower jaw beneath the bead of the drum and upward lifting movement of the attachment for engagement within the bead of the drum, a counterweight on the outer end of said leg spaced outwardly of said clevis and adjustable along said arm to balance said arms to extend substantially parallel to the top and side wall of a drum when suspended from a hoist, and means for manually guiding said frame when suspended from a hoist to position the lower jaw beneath the bead of the drum, and including a gusset extending between said legs and having an inclined underface engageable with the top of the bead of the drum and spaced upwardly of the upper surface of said lower jaw a distance of at least one inch and not over one and one-quarter inches to thereby guide said lower jaw under the bead of the drum when said frame is manually moved inwardly toward the drum so that when the frame is lifted by the hoist, the lower jaw is vertically moved by engagement with the lower surface of the bead of the drum and the upper jaw is pivotally moved into gripping contact with the upper surface of the bead of the drum. 